- Gregory Solman

LOS ANGELES Callaway Golf has chosen independent Eleven as lead creative shop on its $50 million business following a review, the agency said today.

Last week, sources said Omnicom Group's OMD won the media portion from independent incumbent KSL.

"The thing that connected us to them is that in a funny way golf has become about technology, metallurgy, swing physics," said Courtney Buechert, president, Eleven. "But Callaway is at its origin an emotional brand. How this stopped being about how people feel about golf I'm not sure. Anyway it's a really good thing for us."

Buechert said that recent personnel changes at Callaway, including executives who arrived from Johnson & Johnson, "will change the way they go to market and engage the consumer marketplace." Other contenders were not disclosed.

Callaway split with WPP Group's Y&R in March. At the end of a four-year relationship, the Irvine, Calif., agency was handling an estimated $15 million portion of the business that included brand marketing, women's products and Callaway-branded woods, irons and golf balls.

In the interim, independent 72andSunny produced a campaign for the golf balls with the tagline "Good ball." Roster or project shops had handled Callaway's Odyssey, Top-Flite and Ben Hogan lines.

Buechert said that the agency would focus on Callaway-branded products only, at least at the beginning.

The win continues a six-month new business streak for the San Francisco shop in which it has picked up Virgin America, VMWare, Commonsense Media, Chumby and Autodesk.

"We're well positioned for the work that's out there," Buechert said. "With the economy as it is and the stresses out there, being a strategic and creative shop of a certain size makes us easy to choose."

Callaway creative will be led by partner Paul Curtin and acd Paul Hicks, formerly of Hasan & Partners, Helsinki, Finland, and Interpublic Group's McCann Worldgroup, San Francisco, where he worked on Microsoft and GM. Jenny Leonetti, most recently from Omnicom's Cutwater, will act as account director.

The client could not be immediately reached.